A Different Tony Stark

The training hall was alive with anticipation. The first five agents who had received the serum stood in formation, their new physical capabilities still fresh and untested in true combat scenarios. Each of them had undergone extensive combat training prior to their enhancement, but this was their first official evaluation since their transformation.

And the evaluator? Tony Stark.

Many of the agents exchanged skeptical glances. To them, Tony was a genius, a billionaire, the man who had orchestrated the fall of the Red Room, but he had done all that through overwhelming technology, through his inventions, through his ability to plan three steps ahead. He wasn't a fighter, not in the traditional sense. He wasn't a soldier. So why was he the one testing them?

Melina, standing off to the side with her arms crossed, watched with curiosity. She had her suspicions about Tony's capabilities, but she had never seen him in direct combat. This was going to be interesting.

Tony, clad in a simple black training shirt and pants, stretched his arms lazily as he walked to the center of the sparring area. "Alright, here's the deal," he said casually, rolling his shoulders. "You've all been given a major upgrade. Stronger, faster, tougher. But power doesn't mean much if you don't know how to use it. So today's lesson is simple: try and land a hit on me."

Yelena smirked. "No offense, boss, but shouldn't you receive the serum first?" She volunteered to be one of the first ones to receive the serum mostly because she wanted to beat Natasha for once.

"She's right, boss." Anya agreed.

Tony raised an eyebrow. He motioned toward the group. "Don't worry about me, you should worry about yourselves."

The agents still weren't entirely convinced. Their enhancements made them faster than any normal human, stronger than Olympic athletes at their peak. They had reflexes that rivaled world-class martial artists. Against an unarmed man, genius or not, this felt like an easy win.

Tony sighed, cracking his neck. "Alright, enough standing around. Who's first?"

Yelena stepped forward, rolling her shoulders. "I'll go."

"Great," Tony said, nodding approvingly. "Come at me. Full force."

Yelena hesitated only for a moment before charging in, her enhanced speed allowing her to close the distance in an instant. She threw a powerful right hook aimed straight for Tony's jaw.

Tony didn't even blink.

With effortless precision, he sidestepped at the last possible moment, pivoting smoothly as Yelena's punch sailed harmlessly past him. Before the agent could react, Tony flicked him on the forehead.

The force sent Yelena stumbling back several feet, her eyes wide in shock.

The other agents froze.

Yelena shook her head and glared at Tony. "What the hell was that?"

"That," Tony said with a smirk, "was me being nice."

The next agent didn't wait. A woman named Sasha lunged forward, using her enhanced agility to flip over Tony and strike from behind. It was a well-executed maneuver, one that should have given her the upper hand.

But before she could land a blow, Tony simply caught her wrist mid-air, twisting it just enough to throw her off balance, and gently set her back on the ground.

"Points for creativity," he remarked. "But you're telegraphing your moves."

Anya then tried a more direct approach, aiming for a quick takedown. She feinted left and swept her leg out toward Tony's feet. In response, Tony didn't move—he let the kick connect.

Or at least, Anya thought it connected.

The moment her leg made contact with Tony's, it felt like she had just kicked solid steel. The impact sent a sharp pain up her shin, and she immediately recoiled.

"Ow—what—?!"

Tony gave her a sympathetic shrug. "Yeah, that was a bad idea. You guys have been enhanced, sure, but me? I was already on a whole different level."

Yelena, still rubbing her forehead from the earlier flick, frowned. "Wait a minute..." She looked at Tony more carefully now. "Just how strong are you?"

Tony grinned. "Good question. Why don't you all try attacking me at once and find out?"

The five agents exchanged looks before nodding. If one-on-one wasn't working, maybe teamwork would.

They rushed him together, coming at him from all angles.

Tony didn't dodge.

The moment they reached him, everything changed. In a blur of movement almost too fast for the eye to follow, Tony effortlessly blocked, redirected, and countered every single strike with ease. A grab was met with a twist of the wrist and a light push, sending the attacker sprawling. A kick was caught mid-air and turned into a controlled spin before setting the agent back down unharmed. Each movement was precise, calculated, and effortless.

Within seconds, all five agents were either flat on the ground or stumbling backward, gasping for breath.

Tony stood in the center, perfectly composed, barely even winded.

He clapped his hands together. "Okay, now that we've established that I'm way out of your league, let's focus on what you can improve. Because trust me, you're gonna need it."

The room was silent for a beat before Melina let out a quiet chuckle. "So that's why you didn't want control of the super-soldier project."

Tony turned to her with an amused expression. "Yep, partially. Why would I need an army when I can do all the heavy lifting myself?"

Melina shook her head, still processing what she had just seen. The agents, meanwhile, were trying to reconcile everything they thought they knew about Tony Stark with what had just happened.

"Alright, break time's over," Tony said, clapping his hands again. "Let's run it back. Maybe this time, try lasting longer than ten seconds."

---

The training hall was eerily quiet in the wake of the sparring session. The five super-soldier agents, all of whom had undergone the perfected serum enhancements, sat on the benches lining the walls, catching their breath. Some were rubbing at sore spots, while others simply stared at the floor, still processing what had just happened.

None of them had expected Tony Stark to be capable of what he had just demonstrated.

At first, they had assumed that his reputation was simply a byproduct of his technology, his drones, his inventions. He had taken down the Red Room using overwhelming firepower and tactical brilliance, not physical strength. Yet today, in a match of pure combat, he had effortlessly dismantled every single one of them.

Not once had he struggled. Not once had he even looked remotely challenged.

It wasn't just that he won; it was how he won. Effortless dodges, blocks that felt like hitting reinforced steel, counters that barely required movement. He had been playing with them. Conserving his strength. And even with that, they hadn't stood a chance.

Yelena Belova crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes at him. "Alright, I'm calling it. What the hell was that?"

Tony, completely at ease, leaned against a training dummy with an amused smirk. "That? That was me giving you a fair shot."

Anya Petrova scoffed, still rubbing her wrist from when she had tried to throw a punch—only to feel like she had hit an immovable object. "That was not a fair shot. You weren't even trying."

Tony shrugged. "Hey, I was trying—trying not to break anyone."

Melina, who had been silently watching from the sidelines, finally spoke up. "You've been hiding this level of strength," she said, her voice calm but firm. "Why?"

Tony met her gaze, his smirk fading slightly. "Well, mostly because it wasn't relevant until now."

The room fell silent again.

Yelena frowned. "Not relevant? You've been walking around like an ordinary guy this whole time, letting everyone believe you were just a genius with gadgets. Meanwhile, you could have been throwing tanks across battlefields?"

Tony exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "Look, I don't need to show off. If I can handle things with my tech, why complicate things by making everyone question what I can do?"

Anya rubbed her temples. "So, what are you, then? You're stronger than all of us. Faster too. If you had taken this serum first, maybe we wouldn't even—"

"Don't even start with that," Tony interrupted. "You all are strong. The serum made you better than any soldier in history. Just because I've got a bit more in the tank doesn't mean you're not capable. You are. That's why I chose you."

There was a long pause before Anya asked, quieter this time, "Then why are you training us? If you're this powerful, why do you need an enhanced task force at all?"

Tony's smirk returned, but there was something sharper behind it this time. "Because I can't be everywhere at once. And because there's always something bigger out there."

That thought settled uncomfortably over the group. If he was worried about something bigger, what did that mean for them?

Melina studied him for a moment longer before nodding. "I suppose that makes sense." She glanced at the other agents. "You've had your reality check. Now, adapt to it. If you want to be useful, get better."

Tony clapped his hands together. "That's the spirit. Now, get cleaned up. Tomorrow, we push things further."

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